


No Strings Attached

by SybilltheSeer



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon-Compliant, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hinny, Mentions of the Dursleys, Nightmares, Pillow Talk, Post-War, harry and ginny, i also want the angsty recovery process, i just want to see harry recover is that too much to ask, so there's that, teddy lupin is also mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:37:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24690142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SybilltheSeer/pseuds/SybilltheSeer
Summary: Harry is still struggling to cope after the war, but Ginny is there for him, even in the small moments.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 14
Kudos: 54





	No Strings Attached

**Author's Note:**

> FloreatCastellum is an inspiration (go read her work), and although I could never even hope to be as good a writer as she is, her ideas of what some of Harry's internal struggles after the war might be inspired me to write this short scene. I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but here it is.

“Nightmare?” Ginny whispered, reaching out to run her fingers along Harry’s arm.

Harry opened his eyes blearily to Ginny’s tired smile, and rolled closer to her warmth. He hummed in response. Had he been twitching in his sleep again? Ginny could almost always tell when he was having a less than happy dream.

“About the war again?” Ginny pressed gently.

Harry didn’t respond immediately, taking a moment to wake up a bit more and take comfort in the fact that he was here in Ginny’s arms, and not in his dream. “No. It wasn’t that bad. You can go back to sleep.”

Ginny gave a quiet snort and snuggled in closer to Harry. “As if I believe that,” she mumbled. Harry smiled, wrapping his arms snugly around her. “Really, I’m fine,” he said.

In truth, he wasn’t sure if he was fine or not. He hadn’t been sure ever since the war ended and he’d had more trouble sleeping then he’d ever had in his life. Which was saying something, Harry supposed. The worst were the nightmares about the war, of course — loved ones dying around him while he frantically searched for cursed items, desperate to stop the death and destruction following him everywhere, like some morbid version of the Midas touch. But those dreams were somewhat expected. What he had not expected were dreams and distorted memories from his early childhood. While not quite as troubling as the other nightmares, he was still bothered by the fact that things that had happened so long ago, things that he thought he had forgotten, were suddenly coming back to haunt him. He felt weak. There was no reason why things that had happened more than a decade ago should be troubling him now.

“Want to tell me about it?” he heard Ginny ask into his chest.

“...not particularly,” he replied cautiously. “Really, it’s nothing,” he said as Ginny tilted her head up to look at him suspiciously, raising her eyebrows. They looked at each other for another moment, and then Ginny buried her face back into his chest. They lay there for awhile, Harry breathing in the comforting scent of Ginny’s soft hair, finding security in her closeness and warmth. As much as he didn’t want to admit to his weakness, he knew Ginny deserved to know. She deserved the world, of course. But for now, he could at least show her he trusted her enough to be somewhat vulnerable, as uncomfortable as it was.

“It’s Teddy,” he said finally. “Ever since...you know. Ever since Lupin and Tonks died and us and Andromeda have been taking care of him...I’ve just been feeling strange, I suppose.”

Ginny looked up at him again. “You’ve been feeling strange,” she repeated, and then waited, listening.

“Yeah...”

Harry paused, trying to think of what he was to say next. How was he supposed to share his feelings when he didn’t even understand them himself? Ginny had closed her eyes again, but Harry knew she was still listening. Somehow it seemed easier to share when the person you were sharing with wasn’t looking at you. Ginny seemed to understand this, and Harry wasn’t surprised. She knew him too well.

“I suppose...I don’t know. I guess I’ve just feeling a bit resentful toward my relatives lately. And I think it started when we got Teddy.” Harry stopped there, feeling exhausted already.

Ginny was silent for a moment, and then, “I think that’s reasonable.”

Harry waited.

“I think you have every right to resent them. And you see yourself in Teddy, of course you do. But you have to remember that he’ll never have the life you did,” Ginny said softly.

“Yeah, I know,” Harry mumbled. “Not if I have anything to say about it.” He felt Ginny smile against him.

“And me. And Andromeda.” She looked up at him, still smiling. “I’ll always love Teddy. And you too,” she added leaning closer to his face. Harry couldn’t help it, he kissed her freckled lips gently and Ginny reciprocated.

“Speaking of your relatives, when was the last time you’ve even spoken to them?” Ginny asked curiously, now running her fingers through his hair slowly.

“I dunno, it’s been awhile.”

Ginny hummed. “Well, I’m not saying you should go talk to them or anything, but if you ever wanted someone to talk to them for you...maybe tell your aunt she can go shove a wand up her —“

Harry laughed. “That sounds unadvisable, but thanks.”

Ginny grinned at him, and Harry’s heart lifted at the sight. Seeing Ginny smile always made him feel like the happiest person alive. He pulled her closer to him under the covers and rested his chin on the top of her head. There was more to what he was feeling, he knew, Ginny had only just scratched the surface of it all. He had yet to understand why his relatives had never loved him, when it felt so easy to love Teddy despite the fact that they had no blood relation. Had yet to comfortably accept the dawning realization that his not being his aunt’s son was no excuse for how she’d treated him. But he and Ginny had time, Harry thought. Days, weeks, months...years to talk.

So for now, Harry pushed it out of his mind, and focused on the steady breathing of the girl beside him. Ginny, who loved Teddy. Ginny, who never pushed him to share when he was uncomfortable. Ginny, who didn’t judge or pity him. Ginny, who (he was growing to learn) loved him with no strings attached.


End file.
